'Very big' - Stefan Borson hits out at PIF as Newcastle strike £190m deal

Newcastle United's owners should be criticised despite agreeing to purchase a new training ground complex this summer.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider of his "harsh" verdict on the new training ground complex.

The Magpies are set to move to the Woolsington Hall estate in 2029-30 after purchasing the complex for £190million, acquiring 260 acres of land to the south of Newcastle International Airport.

It has been described as a "landmark moment" by CEO David Hopkinson, and supporters are certainly excited about what it means for the owners' future at St James' Park.

Following the exits of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon, a growing majority were becoming concerned by PIF's lack of investment.

Those concerns appear to have been squashed ahead of the new season, though, not only with a lot of money spent, but also thanks to the new training ground complex.

Newcastle's training ground move should have happened 'years ago'

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson took a "harsh" view of the new training ground, pouring cold water over some of the excitement.

"Financially, it's not really going to make much difference. In fact, in many ways, it's just a very big cost," he said.

"Now, the reason that you do it is that you hope that the cost of having it and developing it means that your elite performance is that much higher, which ultimately ends up delivering on the pitch.

"I guess that's the justification of Leicester [City]'s training ground, and a big part of the valuation that Leicester are trying to have within the valuation of its sale.

"They have this amazing facility, training ground facility, but it's not an immediate driver of revenue. You might get a training ground sponsor, so maybe that'll give you £5m.

"It can help you with things like that, but it's not going to it's not revolutionise things and and there's a cost to it.

"If I was being harsh, I would say that the development of that should have been something that happened very, very early on in the journey, four years ago, three years ago.

"So it's positive, but you've got to be realistic. The impact and the speed of the impact that that's going to have is not going be overnight."

What are Newcastle's chances of relegation?

News of Newcastle's training complex is possibly the brightest moment during a very tough summer at St James' Park.

The Magpies have taken a very different route with their transfer business, with many feeling that the squad lacks a lot of experience.

Because of the drastic changes, Matthias Jaissle's team are now 10/1 to be relegated from the Premier League, though there are several more likely below them.

Ipswich Town, Hull City and Coventry City are all expected to go straight back down, while Fulham and Crystal Palace are also in difficult positions.